Non-stepping wringer bucket

ABSTRACT

A non-stepping wringer bucket including a bucket body, a dewatering basket and a rotating element. The bucket body has a top surface which is substantially an opening, a protruding base protruded from a bottom surface of the bucket body, and a support shaft fixed onto the protruding base includes. The dewatering basket is sheathed onto the support shaft, and the rotating element is sheathed between the support shaft and the bottom of the dewatering basket, such that the dewatering basket can be rotated freely with respect to the support shaft.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a wringer bucket, in particular to a non-stepping wringer bucket that provides a high-safety application without requiring any foot-stepping action.

2. Description of the Related Art

Mop is one of the cleaning tools used for cleaning a floor, and traditional wringer buckets are used for removing extra water from the mop, and the traditional wringer buckets generally squeeze fabrics of the mop to remove water on the mop fabrics. As disclosed in R.O.C. Pat. No. M338634, a wringer bucket includes a casing, an installing portion, and a rotating unit, wherein the rotating unit includes a retaining element, an axle, a transmission unit and a push rod unit, such that interactions between the aforementioned components drive the rotating unit to rotate to dewater the mop.

However, the aforementioned conventional wringer bucket requires many components in the rotating unit, and thus results in a complicated structure with too many components and shortens the using life of the wringer bucket.

Furthermore, the design of such wringer bucket not only has the disadvantages of a complicated structure and an uneasy installation, but also require users to stand with one foot and step a pail pedal of the wringer bucket by another foot, such that the users may loss balance, fall down or get hurt.

When such wringer buckets are shipped out from a factory, internal components of the wringer buckets are assembled completely, and thus the wringer buckets cannot be transported by a stacking method, and manufacturers have to transport the wringer buckets with a large volume. As the result, a higher transportation cost will be incurred, which is unfavorable to both manufacturers and consumers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A primary object of the invention is to provide a non-stepping wringer bucket featuring a high-safety application without requiring any foot-stepping action.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a non-stepping wringer bucket with a simple structure and a low cost.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a non-stepping wringer bucket that can be stacked conveniently for storage and transportation, without occupying much space and thus saving the transportation cost.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned objects, a non-stepping wringer bucket in accordance with the invention includes:

a) a bucket body, having a top surface substantially in a form of an opening, and a bottom surface having a protruding base, and a vertical support shaft being fixed on the protruding base;

b) a dewatering basket, having a plurality of dewatering holes disposed at the periphery and bottom surface of the dewatering basket, and a rotating base installed at the bottom of the dewatering basket and sheathed onto the support shaft; and

c) a rotating element, installed between the support shaft and the rotating base of the dewatering basket, for rotating the dewatering basket freely with respect to the support shaft.

The non-stepping wringer bucket of the present invention does not come with an active driving device, but makes use of the rotation of a mop to dewater the mop.

The non-stepping wringer bucket of the present invention further comprises a handle for facilitating users to carry the wringer bucket, and the bucket body has an opening substantially in an ∞ shape, and a convex cambered surface protruded from the bottom of the bucket body for enhancing a support force of the bucket body, such that when the rotating element is rotated, the non-stepping wringer bucket will not be shaken.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective exploded view of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a disassembled structure of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of an assembled structure of the present invention;

FIG. 4A is an enlarged view of Section 4A of FIG. 4;

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of a mop and the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view of combining a mop with the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of the present invention installed with a handle; and

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of stacking a bucket body of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

With reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 for a non-stepping wringer bucket in accordance with the present invention, the non-stepping wringer bucket 100 comprises a bucket body 10, a dewatering basket 20 and a rotating element 30, wherein a top surface of the bucket body 10 is substantially an opening 11, and a protruding base 13 is protruded from a bottom surface 12 of the bucket body 10, and a vertical support shaft 14 is fixed onto the protruding base 13. The dewatering basket 20 includes a plurality of dewatering holes 22 disposed at the periphery and the bottom surface of the dewatering basket 20.

The height of the protruding base 13 can be adjusted according to the actual required depth of the bucket body, but the height is preferably greater than or equal to the water level of the water required to be filled into the bucket body. The support shaft 14 can be embedded into the protruding base 13 as shown in FIG. 3, wherein the top surface 131 of the protruding base 13 is a plane. In this preferred embodiment, a convex circular surface 141 is disposed at the middle section of the support shaft 14 for positioning the top surface 131 of the protruding base 13, such that the upper section is protruded from the top surface 131. Of course, the support shaft 14 can be fixed with the protruding base 13 integrally.

The dewatering basket 20 is sheathed onto the support shaft 14, and the rotating element 30 can be a bearing installed between the support shaft 131 and the bottom of the dewatering basket 20 and engaged with a rotating base 21 at the bottom of the dewatering basket 20, such that the dewatering basket 20 can be rotated freely with respect to the support shaft 14. The rotating base 21 can be a bearing housing, which is protruded from the middle of the bottom surface in the dewatering tank 20 in this preferred embodiment.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the rotating element 30 is sheathed onto the convex circular surface 141 of the support shaft 14, and then the dewatering basket 20 is detachably and vertically sheathed from top to bottom onto an upper portion of the support shaft 14 protruded from the rotating base 21. However, the invention is not limited to such arrangement only, but the rotating element 30 can be sheathed into the rotating base 21 and then sheathed onto the support shaft 14.

With reference to FIG. 4A, the rotating base 21 has a wear-resisting socket 211 formed on a surface in contact with the support shaft 14 and sheathed onto the support shaft 14, such that when the support shaft 14 is rotated, the wear-resisting socket 211 can prevent the rotating base 21 from being worn out or reducing the using life.

With reference to FIGS. 5 and 6 for schematic views of the present invention provided for its use with a mop 200, the mop 200 comprises an external rod 201, a internal rod 202, a mop head 203 and mop yarns 204 installed at the bottom of the internal rod 202, such that if a user wants to dry the water in the mop yarns 204, then the user will put the mop head 203 and mop yarns 204 into the dewatering basket 20, and manually operate the external rod 201 to rotate the internal rod 202, so as to drive the mop head 203 and the mop yarns 204 to link the dewatering basket 20 which is in a free moving state. Since the rotating element 30 is installed at the bottom, the rotation will be very smooth to remove water from the mop yarns 204 through the dewatering holes by the centrifugal force.

With reference to FIG. 6, the opening 11 of the present invention is in an ∞ shape with an inwardly concave arc 17 disposed separately on both sides of the middle of the ∞ shape, such that when the mop 200 is dewatered, water drops in the mop yarns 204 are tossed away in a tangential direction by the centrifugal force, and the traveling direction of the water drops hits the inwardly concave arc 17 at the middle section of the opening 11, and the water drops slides down along internal sidewalls of the bucket body 10. The design of such inwardly concave arc 17 can minimize the sprinkling of water and avoid water from splashing a user or the floor.

The non-stepping wringer bucket 100 of the present invention as shown in FIG.7 includes a pair of lugs 15 disposed on both sides of the top of the bucket body 10 respectively and connected to a handle 16 for facilitating users to carry the wringer bucket 100. The bottom 12 of the bucket body 10 further includes a convex cambered surface 121 protruded from the bottom 12 for enhancing the support force of the bucket body 10, such that when the rotating element 30 is rotated, the non-stepping wringer bucket 100 will not be shaken.

With the design of the non-stepping wringer bucket in accordance with the present invention, users no longer need to squeeze the mop by a foot-stepping method. As for elderly users, such design can improve the safety of using the wringer bucket.

In the non-stepping wringer bucket of the present invention, the rotating element 30 allows the dewatering basket 20 to rotate freely, and whose structure design is simple, so that the wringer bucket will not be worn out easily for a long time of use. In addition, it is not necessary to transport the wringer bucket as a whole, and the wringer buckets can be stacked with one another as shown in FIG. 8 for making a shipment from factory, and users can assemble the wringer buckets on their own. Such arrangement gives a lower price for users and reduces the production cost for manufacturers effectively. Therefore, the present invention can create a win-win situation for both of the users and manufacturers.

Many changes and modifications in the above-described embodiment of the invention can, of course, be carried out without departing from the scope thereof. Accordingly, to promote the progress in science and the useful arts, the invention is disclosed and is intended to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims. 

1. A non-stepping wringer bucket, comprising: a) a bucket body, having a top surface substantially in a form of an opening, and a bottom surface having a protruding base, and a vertical support shaft being fixed on the protruding base; b) a dewatering basket, having a plurality of dewatering holes disposed at the periphery and bottom surface of the dewatering basket, and a rotating base installed at the bottom of the dewatering basket and sheathed onto the support shaft; and c) a rotating element, installed between the support shaft and the rotating base of the dewatering basket, for rotating the dewatering basket freely with respect to the support shaft.
 2. The non-stepping wringer bucket of claim 1, wherein the dewatering basket is detachably sheathed onto the support shaft.
 3. The non-stepping wringer bucket of claim 1, wherein the rotating element is a bearing.
 4. The non-stepping wringer bucket of claim 1, wherein the rotating base is protruded from the center of the bottom surface inside the dewatering basket, and includes a wear-resisting socket sheathed therein.
 5. The non-stepping wringer bucket of claim 1, wherein the bucket body includes an opening which is in an “∞” shape with an inwardly concave arc disposed separately on both sides of the middle of the “∞” shape.
 6. The non-stepping wringer bucket of claim 1, wherein the bucket body includes a convex cambered surface protruded from the bottom of the bucket body for enhancing a support force of the bucket body.
 7. The non-stepping wringer bucket of claim 1, wherein the bucket body includes a pair of lugs disposed on both sides of the top of the bucket body respectively for connecting a handle. 